The gear and reel setup, the water worth looking for, the best baits, and the techniques that actually put bull dolphin in the boat.
9 min read · David Rose · Species Guide
Are you passionate about your offshore fishing and looking to level up your mahi fishing? Welcome to our guide to mahi fishing, where we cover the tips and tricks you need to succeed offshore.
Whether you are a novice angler or a seasoned pro, this guide will help you navigate the offshore world of mahi fishing with confidence and finesse. Grab your gear and let us unlock the secrets of successful mahi fishing.
The species
Mahi fishing basics
Mahi-mahi are best known by their Hawaiian name, meaning "very strong". They are also called dolphinfish or dorado, and they are members of the Coryphaenidae family — their closest relatives being remora, cobia and jacks.
Mahi are schooling fish, most commonly found in large groups. They are very social animals that travel and feed together, and they are curious enough that they will often approach boats and other objects in the water.
They are also voracious eaters, consuming as much as 20% of their body weight per day. They reach sexual maturity in as little as four months, and in captivity have been documented growing as much as three inches per week. Mahi essentially just eat and make more mahi — which is what makes them both so catchable and so popular among offshore anglers.
Gear
Essential gear and equipment for mahi fishing
To increase your chances of success when fishing for mahi, it helps to have the right gear. Here are the items worth adding to your arsenal.
1
Rod
Medium action, 6 to 7 feet. Enough backbone for a bull, enough tip to cast a bait at a school holding under a weed line.
2
Reel
A 4000–6000 class spinning reel covers most mahi fishing. Smooth drag matters more than anything else — mahi run hard and change direction fast. High gear ratio helps you keep up when one runs at the boat.
3
Line and leader
Braid with a 100-yard mono top-shot, 30–50 lb. Mono leader is sufficient — mahi are not toothy like wahoo. Add a barrel swivel to keep twist out.
4
Polarized sunglasses
Mahi are often spotted along floating debris or trailing a hooked fish. Cutting the glare is what lets you see them at all.
Braid with a monofilament top-shot gives you both the sensitivity and the shock absorption a mahi strike asks for.
Join braid and monofilament using an FG or double uni-knot. And remember that mahi are strong fish — use quality equipment, carry back-up supplies, and monitor your gear on the water for wear so you can replace anything damaged before it costs you a fish.
Location
Offshore fishing locations for mahi
When it comes to mahi fishing, location is everything. These fish turn up in a range of offshore habitats — weed lines, floating debris and offshore structures. Here is where to look.
Find the structure and you find the bait. Find the bait and the mahi are rarely far off.
1
Weed lines
Weed lines give mahi both food and shelter. Look for accumulated seaweed or floating vegetation and troll along it, or cast to it.
2
Floating debris
Logs, tree trunks and trash create artificial structure that draws baitfish. Anything — even a five-gallon bucket — can hold a large school.
3
Offshore structures
Rigs, buoys and FADs act as artificial reefs and attract everything up the food chain. Troll around them or cast in close.
4
Pods of flying fish
Flying fish are a favourite mahi food. If you run across a good number of them, there is a strong chance mahi are nearby.
Pro tip
Approach floating debris cautiously rather than running straight at it — spooking the school costs you the whole stop. And do not blow past flying fish on your way to a hot spot. I have done it more times than I care to admit, only to come back later and find mahi sitting right there.
Mahi are opportunistic feeders and will take a wide range of natural baits. The trick is presenting something that mimics their prey and triggers the predatory response.
Squid is the most forgiving bait on the list. Soft bodied, natural in the water, and it stays on the hook through a lot of abuse — which matters when a school is on the boat and you are re-baiting fast. Fish it whole for bigger fish, or cut into strips for schoolies and for bailing.
Ballyhoo is the staple. It is what mahi are already eating in tropical and subtropical water, and a rigged ballyhoo swimming naturally will out-fish almost anything else on a troll. Pin rig it or buy it pre-rigged.
Cigar minnows are the underrated option. Oilier than ballyhoo, so they leave a better scent trail, noticeably cheaper, and far quicker to rig — which is the whole argument when the bite is hot and you are burning through baits.
Live bait beats all of it when you can get it. Mahi will take live cigar minnows, ballyhoo, menhaden and mullet, fished on a light rig and allowed to swim freely near structure.
If you are choosing one bait to have aboard, make it ballyhoo. If you are choosing two, add squid — between them you can troll, cast, and bail a school without changing anything but presentation.
Pro tip
Consider cigar minnows when the action gets hot — oily enough to leave a good scent trail, cheaper than ballyhoo, and much faster to rig. And if you are trolling through scattered grass, run your baits where you can watch them and clear weed off the leader before it reaches the lure.
Keep in mind that mahi are visual predators, so vibrant colours and lifelike movement help. They are also cannibalistic and will feed on smaller mahi, which is why green/yellow and pink/blue are such consistent colour combinations.
Lures
Best mahi lures
Alongside natural baits, artificials earn their place in a mahi spread. Four types are worth carrying.
1
Soft plastic trolling lures
Skirted and soft-bodied lures that imitate fleeing baitfish or squid. No additional bait needed, though a strip bait adds appeal.
2
Spreader bars and daisy chains
Mahi school and feed on schools. A spread that imitates a group of baitfish is often far more productive than a single lure.
3
Diving hardbaits
Mahi are usually caught near the surface, but a lipped diver reaching 20 feet can turn a so-so day into a good one.
4
Surface poppers
Topwater commotion that mimics fleeing baitfish. Mahi strike poppers aggressively, and it is the most exciting way to catch them.
A flat-faced trolling lure is worth singling out — the extra commotion it makes in the water can drive dolphin genuinely crazy, and it fishes well in front of a natural bait.
Rigged and ready
Baits that swim, not spin
Mahi are visual predators, which means a bait that rolls or lies on its side is a bait they will ignore. The moulded keel weight sits in the same position on every rig, so the ballyhoo tracks upright every time.
Four techniques cover almost every mahi situation you will meet offshore. Which one you reach for is decided by what you find — a weed line, a piece of debris, a school following a hooked fish, or nothing at all yet.
Live baiting. Mahi will strike a range of live baits including cigar minnows, ballyhoo, menhaden and mullet. Use live bait rigs and let the baits swim freely around weed lines, debris or other structure.
Casting. There is nothing fancy here. Most successful hookups come from casting at weed lines, buoys, floating objects or passing schools. Use light spinning or casting tackle and put the bait near the fish — mahi are curious and aggressive enough that a well-placed cast often triggers a strike on its own.
Trolling. Troll a combination of lures and natural baits. Rod riggers are a useful way to widen your spread if you are fishing from a boat without outriggers — cheaper and easier than outriggers, though they will not spread baits as far. Watch for birds diving or fish jumping while you work.
When you hook a schoolie, watch for the rest of the school following it to the boat. Do not lift that fish out of the water. Cut squid into small chunks, throw some in, and pitch a hooked piece after it. Keep adding bait as they eat. When a second fish is hooked, the first can come aboard — and you repeat until the school leaves or you have your limit. The key is keeping bait and one hooked mahi in the water at all times.
Wrapping up
Becoming a successful mahi fisherman
Mahi are the most forgiving offshore gamefish there is. They are curious, they are aggressive, and they will come to a boat out of sheer nosiness. You do not have to out-think them. You mostly have to be in the right water with something that looks alive.
Which is exactly why the bait is where most trips are quietly lost. Mahi hunt by sight. A ballyhoo that rolls, spins, or lies on its side is not a bait to a fish that is watching it — it is a warning. And unlike a deep line, you can usually see it happening behind the boat, which means every spinning bait you troll is one you chose to keep trolling.
That is the problem TrollTrue lures are built around. The keel weight is moulded into the lure body and sits in the same optimal position on every single rig, so the bait tracks upright whether it is your first ballyhoo of the morning or your fortieth in the middle of a hot bite. Rig it once, put it out, and stop wondering.
Then go find a weed line and look for flying fish. The rest of it is not complicated.
Bottom line
Find the structure, look for the bait, and give them something that swims like the real thing. Mahi are willing enough that the presentation is usually the only variable you actually control.
Your offshore partner
Rig it once. Fish it all day.
TrollTrue lures and seven-strand wire rigging hold a natural bait upright and tracking, so you spend the day fishing instead of checking your spread.
Find the structure
Weed lines, debris, rigs and flying fish. Anything that holds bait holds mahi.
Match the colours
Green/yellow and pink/blue. Mahi hunt by sight, so give them something to see.
Swim it true
A moulded keel weight so the ballyhoo tracks upright instead of rolling.
